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Games that make you a better player

Colywobbles

Colywobbles

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Billy Big B*llocks
Although I’ve only had TWD in da house a few days I swear it’s making me a better player after only a few dozen games.
TBH after watching @Gonzo ‘s initial thoughts TWD video which made the game look quite brutal it had me dreading getting to grips with mine which arrived this week.
However it’s quite the opposite and I have found the Prem/LE flavour a lot more forgiving than Kris made the Pro version look.
Granted it’s not the easiest of games especially if you not an active player and I can see why it would be possible to have SDTM’s. And outlane drains.

So for anyone wanting to improve their skills I vote for TWD and a close 2nd BM66 which I found similar.

Anyone find this with a particular pin and if so which pin and why?
 
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Walking Dead forces you to use the bounce pass.

Attack from Mars is fast and tough, it certainly helps reactions and it's good for nudging.
 
Houdini, the shots are so tight, if you miss even one, down the drain or a bounce down the drain. The shot you need to take in the middle right is also very difficult, that opens the trunk multiball and cinema. The flippers are also soft (it's supposed to be) also makes it a challenge if your used to stern. I've currently got a borrowed one and it certainly has made me a better player.

To demonstrate how hard the game can be when 3 non pinball friends came over to make it more interesting I bet £10 they couldn't get over £100k score, with their first play, they couldn't even after there second and third. I think my score at a league meet was £27k 🤣🤣🤣🤣

I have manged to get 2.5 million but I think that was more blind luck than skill.

It's brutal but it does have a one more go about it and it does have a funny sense of humour.
 
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cmrl9 said:
Houdini, the shots are so tight, if you miss even one, down the drain or a bounce down the drain. The shot you need to take in the middle right is also very difficult, that opens the trunk multiball and cinema. The flippers are also soft (it's supposed to be) also makes it a challenge if your used to stern. I've currently got a borrowed one and it certainly has made me a better player.

To demonstrate how hard the game can be when 3 non pinball friends came over to make it more interesting I bet £10 they couldn't get over £100k score, with their first play, they couldn't even after there second and third. I think my score at a league meet was £27k 🤣🤣🤣🤣

I have manged to get 2.5 billion but I think that was more blind luck than skill.

It's brutal but it does have a one more go about it and it does have a funny sense of humour.
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It also requires you to use the bounce of the middle drain post which took me a while to get used to. The key lane, down the drain otherwise 🤭🤭🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
 
Of the DMD era, Fish Tales and Creech if setup properly
Both can be brutally fast and claustrophobic punishing you if you don't get control and make accurate shots.
Both teach you to make decent choices to.

I'd sell AFM before I sold Fish Tales 😄
I don't think AFM is that tough, it's open so you can anticipate the ball more, good for learning to dead bounce and drop catch though.
 
Another vote for AFM and fish tales.
would like a TWD at some point. Prefer hard games, its what keeps me coming back. (even tough im not a great player)

"I don't think AFM is that tough, it's open so you can anticipate the ball more, good for learning to dead bounce and drop catch though."

you havnt played the right AFM Dave ;)

Blink on mine and the balls gone (new PF fitted before it came to me). My biggest battle is air balls as its so fast.
The AFM remake i played at pinfest was really slow in comparison and the original there was like playing through treacle.
 
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I found AFM not so tough, the original and fast. Finished it quite few times. I find MM harder which is why I kept it and sold AFM. But they will help you play better.
TWD, Robocop, BSD & Halloween will make you play better. I think Halloween is one of the toughest games I’ve played, accuracy, multitasking and the ball appearing in the inlanes from a lifter below especially in multiball. You will definitely play better or you die!
 
not sure about fish tales but:

The five games that made the biggest improvement to my skills:

walking dead - shot accuracy and ability to recover a ball that’s all over the place - live catching is important on this game and nudging.

attack from mars - accuracy but also stamina being able to concentrate for a decent period of time.

Spider-Man- again another shot accuracy recovery specialist with a need to think about how you stack things.

Flash Gordon, no other game in classics compares to how fast and tough this game is. If you play well at FG you will play well on most classics. Some people will say paragon here and that is tough but also heavily dependant on how well the game is setup. A paragon that sends the ball straight to the out lane - there is nothing you can do about that and many of them do this.

jurassic park - yeah Not expecting that? This game is frustratingly brutal and it has a long path to go to get into the mega scores - it’s also teaching you a little stage flipper use and about planning your strategy for big points.

oh and really think about how hard is your game setup. I’ve seen folks be a wizard with their AFM at home then only to play mine and need therapy afterwards.
 
Neil McRae said:
not sure about fish tales but:

The five games that made the biggest improvement to my skills:

walking dead - shot accuracy and ability to recover a ball that’s all over the place - live catching is important on this game and nudging.

attack from mars - accuracy but also stamina being able to concentrate for a decent period of time.

Spider-Man- again another shot accuracy recovery specialist with a need to think about how you stack things.

Flash Gordon, no other game in classics compares to how fast and tough this game is. If you play well at FG you will play well on most classics. Some people will say paragon here and that is tough but also heavily dependant on how well the game is setup. A paragon that sends the ball straight to the out lane - there is nothing you can do about that and many of them do this.

jurassic park - yeah Not expecting that? This game is frustratingly brutal and it has a long path to go to get into the mega scores - it’s also teaching you a little stage flipper use and about planning your strategy for big points.

oh and really think about how hard is your game setup. I’ve seen folks be a wizard with their AFM at home then only to play mine and need therapy afterwards.
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Other thing I would say about JP is learning to drop catch from all the missed shots 😆 Still never quite got the hang of staging the flippers, a very difficult thing to master I would say. I’ve seen Bowen struggle in his tutorials with staging so if it’s ok for him I’m fine with it! 😆
 
Neil McRae said:
not sure about fish tales but:

The five games that made the biggest improvement to my skills:

walking dead - shot accuracy and ability to recover a ball that’s all over the place - live catching is important on this game and nudging.

attack from mars - accuracy but also stamina being able to concentrate for a decent period of time.

Spider-Man- again another shot accuracy recovery specialist with a need to think about how you stack things.

Flash Gordon, no other game in classics compares to how fast and tough this game is. If you play well at FG you will play well on most classics. Some people will say paragon here and that is tough but also heavily dependant on how well the game is setup. A paragon that sends the ball straight to the out lane - there is nothing you can do about that and many of them do this.

jurassic park - yeah Not expecting that? This game is frustratingly brutal and it has a long path to go to get into the mega scores - it’s also teaching you a little stage flipper use and about planning your strategy for big points.

oh and really think about how hard is your game setup. I’ve seen folks be a wizard with their AFM at home then only to play mine and need therapy afterwards.
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I played your AFMr and don’t remember it being mega tuff but I do remember playing your Shadow and walking away in minutes at Pinfest thinking WTF😂
 
AllstarDK said:
Ghostbusters and turtles turns you into a real man
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Totally agree but replace the word real with “ANGRY” the reason they are no longer here is testament of how brutal the flipper gap and annoying cheap drains on GB are and how fast the ball flys round to the upper flipper on TMNT just infuriates me.
 
cmrl9 said:
I have manged to get 2.5 billion but I think that was more blind luck than skill.
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2.5 billion???
or is that 2.5 million?

I agree it helps to make you a better player as there are a lot of tight shots on the game, possibly too tight for a lot of folks. Having said that though, even if you miss the actual shot you're going for, the stand up targets at the entrance to each shot will count towards something so it's not too difficult to say light 'SEANCE' and then if you've dialled your shots in shoot for SEANCE multiball. You can even shoot the Milkcan Loop with practice ;)

I've got GB as well so I must be a glutten for punishment. Hit the slingshot low down without activating the kickback and then think you'll be able to catch the ball on the flipper? No, no, no, no, NO. - watch that mother dribble off the end and SDTM. Definitely forces you to play better / differently
 
I own Fish Tales, AFM and Creech. I previously owned Flash Gordon, and only sold it because my husband thought it didn't do anything better than a 90s B/W (we now own Alien Poker, which does).

We're also getting TNA CE, which is like Australia - everything wants to kill you.

I also play JP2 to death on location and I like TWD, but can never deal with the graphic design.


Despite owning/playing all these machines... I am no better at pinball, and not getting better either. Not sure what I'm doing wrong.
 
Neil McRae said:
not sure about fish tales
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The thread title says "games that make you a better player", doesn't specify the starting level. Players who are used to flipping about on a game like AFM can get by on most game but when it comes to fish tales they'll struggle straight away if it has sensitive slings, lightning flippers and it's set up shallow rather than steep.
Games on our fish tales often last less time than AFM And even my two zacs.

Neil McRae said:
I’ve seen folks be a wizard with their AFM
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paulg100 said:
you havnt played the right AFM Dave ;)
[
/QUOTE]

It did take me a year to get to Rule the Universe on my AFM and that's with extra balls.
But getting super jackpots on Fish Tales is a rare event.
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David_Vi said:
The thread title says "games that make you a better player", doesn't specify the starting level. Players who are used to flipping about on a game like AFM can get by on most game but when it comes to fish tales they'll struggle straight away if it has sensitive slings, lightning flippers and it's set up shallow rather than steep.
Games on our fish tales often last less time than AFM And even my two zacs.
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Yeah, there are certain machines that allow - in my words - 'noodling' around. You can just flap the ball around randomly like a three year old, and it's not going to drain immediately and you'll probably eventually start off a multiball or something.

The worst culprits I've encountered are Cactus Canyon Remake (a total noodle-fest), Elvira House of Horrors, and some JJP Guns and Roses (others are set up to be hard). GnR seems actually DESIGNED to be a noodlefest having, as it does, endless multiballs (on factory settings) and largely incomprehensible playfield insert lighting. It's like it's been designed for my (just-turned) three year old, who loves multiball, coloured lighting and mashing both flipper buttons at the same time.

I absolutely HATE noodly machines. There's just no tension or excitement in the individual shots and, even though my ball times are always short (as I'm a rubbish player), they *feel* eternal.
 
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PAX said:
2.5 billion???
or is that 2.5 million?

I agree it helps to make you a better player as there are a lot of tight shots on the game, possibly too tight for a lot of folks. Having said that though, even if you miss the actual shot you're going for, the stand up targets at the entrance to each shot will count towards something so it's not too difficult to say light 'SEANCE' and then if you've dialled your shots in shoot for SEANCE multiball. You can even shoot the Milkcan Loop with practice ;)

I've got GB as well so I must be a glutten for punishment. Hit the slingshot low down without activating the kickback and then think you'll be able to catch the ball on the flipper? No, no, no, no, NO. - watch that mother dribble off the end and SDTM. Definitely forces you to play better / differently
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Million "lol" billion on that game would be a bug in the software.

Have you ever spelt seance in order?

Milk an I hate that shot, I basically can never hit it. For me Only luck it goes in 🤣🤭
 
Colywobbles said:
Totally agree but replace the word real with “ANGRY” the reason they are no longer here is testament of how brutal the flipper gap and annoying cheap drains on GB are and how fast the ball flys round to the upper flipper on TMNT just infuriates me.
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Think it’s just a case of getting used to ghostbusters and knowing the little tricks. I honestly wouldn’t have known there was a flipper gap issue unless I was told but it set my love for pinball so I may be biased. Turtles what can I say it’s brutal and I’ll take my hat off to anyone who has finished not in co op mode 😂
 
Definitely JP2 for me, so much so that when I got TMNT as my 2nd machine I wondered why everyone thought it was a brutal game. After having JP2 as my first and only machine for a while, TMNT seemed like a nice break in comparison! It wasn't until a got a few more machines that I realised TMNT was brutal too, just not to JP level. I have a love/ hate relationship with it, it can be so frustrating but no other game for me is as satisfying to get to wizard mode on.

Also I think any game that isn't set up how you ideally like it, whether that's on location or someone else's game. It's not necessarily that they are set up badly, just different and it makes you think, assess and adapt better and quicker. I always have really good games on my machines after going to play on location.
 
Jib said:
Definitely JP2 for me, so much so that when I got TMNT as my 2nd machine I wondered why everyone thought it was a brutal game. After having JP2 as my first and only machine for a while, TMNT seemed like a nice break in comparison! It wasn't until a got a few more machines that I realised TMNT was brutal too, just not to JP level. I have a love/ hate relationship with it, it can be so frustrating but no other game for me is as satisfying to get to wizard mode on.
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If/when we have more space, I want a JP2…

I play it to death on location - there are about nine pins at Funland in London and I pretty-much only play JP2.
 
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